The idea behind ‘Teintée Africaine’ came about when I noticed a growing trend: European acts of African descent were increasingly tapping into the current popular African sounds and genres to innovate. The idea, then, was to pair those works with those made at the source. While the latter enjoyed less plaudits outside its locale, I...Continue reading
Tag: Tems
Smoke x Mirrors ’20|06: I
It feels like an eternity ago now. Somewhere by the middle of last month, I had carefully planned a run of playlists with the fourth slated for Wednesday…two weeks ago. The day I started to execute was on the fateful May 25th. If I had to narrow down the type of hip-hop records I like...Continue reading
A Party Mix While We #StaySafe
It’s been a tough few months with the ongoing pandemic. As a professional entertainment purveyor, being on the sidelines for this long is definitely bad for the finances. It could also be as detrimental to the skill set. I’ve seen my peers keep sharp by live streaming and/or dropping mixes. So, I’ve set out to...Continue reading
Smoke x Mirrors ’20|05: I
I don’t know about you, but I still can’t get to this new normal. As challenging as it has been to digest new music without freedom to move about or congregate, it has been a welcome distraction and an efficient coping resource. And with our beloved artists still doing what they know best, I felt...Continue reading
Smoke x Mirrors ’20|01: II
The plan was to follow-up on a wink and release this last Sunday. But then the notifications on my phone delivered the devastating Kobe news and I’ve been out of sorts ever since. In my grief, I’m trying to honor my idol and the best way to do so might be to key into his...Continue reading
Flying Over 2019, Pt. II: Africa to the World?
2019 is in the books and we’ve tried as much (and as quick) as possible to whittle down the music we’ve enjoyed to our favorites. It turned out that, between four guys, we had a loooot of them — in spite of overlaps! In the end, we agreed to pick out a few major trends,...Continue reading